Sumo of the Opera
Sumo of the Opera is the twenty-third episode of VeggieTales. The main story is a parody on the Rocky and the Karate Kid, with a mix of Gilbert and Sullivan. Plot The opening countertop sequence finds Bob the Tomato alone with a cucumber sock puppet named Lutfi. Larry the Cucumber, we learn, is on his way to do charity work but is having trouble getting there. Bob and Lutfi need to convince him via telephone to persevere rather than giving up and coming home. Lufi decided to show a story about perseverance. Going Up! (Click here to see more on the segment) However, because Larry was on the phone and their wasn't much dialouge in the story, he coundn't understand the story. While Bob is finding a story for Larry, Luifi decides to show the audancie the story of St. Patrick, done in the style of a flannelgraph The Story of St. Patrick the story tells about Maewyn Succat, a young English boy who is kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland. His new life is miserable and he spends his days in constant prayer, even as those around him celebrate paganism. When God tells him it's time to leave, Succat runs away and returns to England by way of France. Back at home, Maewyn continues his scholarship and dreams that the people of Ireland are begging him to come back and teach them about Christianity. Succat grows up to become a bishop, is rechristened "Patrick", and fulfills his destiny to return to Ireland and teach the Word of God. Sumo of the Opera Larry stars as the Italian Scallion, a sumo wrestler who has difficulty taking anything seriously. He succeeds in injuring his sparring partner Po-Ta-To as a result of his clowning around when Po slips on a banana peel and falls from the ring, injuring his back He is admonished for his joking by Mikey , who accuses him of being weak, lacking ambition, and never completing what he starts. When young Hadrian reminds him that he has not yet fixed his bike. Meanwhile, the Champion, Apollo Gourd, is looking for an opponent now that Po has been injured. The prize is a new "Tiger Bike". Wanting the bike for Hadrian, Scallion accepts the challenge. Mikey agrees to become his trainer on the condition that Scallion does everything he says. Scallion starts out well and trains hard, but when things get difficult, he quits. However, when Scallion sees Hadrian emulating him he realizes that he must set a good example and persevere. He returns to his training with relish and eventually is ready for his match with Apollo Gourd, though naturally no one gives him a chance. However, Scallion does surprisingly well in the match. He lasts longer in the ring than anyone ever has against Apollo. When they both tumble out of the ring at the same moment, the match is called a tie. Unfortunately this means that Apollo remains the champion. In spite of this, Scallion is victorious for having persevered and even completes the repairs to Hadrian's bike. Back on the countertop we see that Larry has also persevered and completed his charity work. However, just as both he and Bob were about to get a verse, Luifi meddled inside Qwerty, and made him splutter in smoke. Characters *Bob *Larry *Mr. Lunt (does not speak) Going Up! *Mr. Nezzer (does not speak) *Madame Blueberry (does not speak) The Story of St. Patrick *St. Patrick *Succat Maewyn's master *Boat Captain Sumo of the Opera *Jimmy Gourd as Jim Gourdly *Jerry Gourd as the Cameraman *Junior Asparagus as Hadrian *Pa Grape as Mikey *Mr. Lunt as the Sushi Chef *Archibald Asparagus as himself Fun Facts Explanations *A spring roll is a rolled Asian appetizer. It is similar to an egg roll, but the wrap is made of flour dough wrap. *Scallion thinking he's gonna eat raw eggs was a used practice where during most of the 20th century boxers would eat raw eggs so they can have protein. This was later revealed in the late 1980's that it is considered unhealthily. Trivia *This is the only VeggieTales episode to have more than two segments (three if you count the Silly Song). *Larry's trouble getting to the toy drive is based on Mike's experience when he was in Chicago before trying to help out at a toy drive, though unlike Larry, Mike didn't have any troubles getting there. *This is also the first time Qwerty broken down. Incidentally, less than three months after the video was released, a similar incident happened towards Strong Bad's Compy. Coincidentally, they're both based on the same computer model. * During the scene where St. Patrick was preaching the people of Ireland, the crowd is actually animated versions of the crew at Big Idea (see image). *The numbered bus routes Larry mentioned after he came back are actual bus routes in Chicago. *Brian Roberts states that there was a Jerry Lewis gag after Maewyn and the ship crew landed in France, but it was cut due to time. *Originally in the storyboards and concept art, it was gonna be an entirely new model for the Sushi Chef. *Several things were different in the script compared to final version, including: **There was a line after Hadrian asks if his bike was finished, Scallion says "Yo, Hadrian, know why the kid crossed the playground? To get to the other slide. Get it?". This was absent in the final. **The scene of Apollo Gourd saying he doesn't need to train was after Scallion was eating at the sushi restaurant. However, it was pushed after the first training at the recycling center. **After the first training at the recycling center, it was suppose to be night time, and it shows Hadrian throwing newspaper. **After the crowd sings, the script has Mikey, Bobby, and Jim Gourdly saying "Wait, wait. The story's not over." However, in the final version, it was only Jim who says "Wait folks! The story's not over!". **At the end of the show, Luifi unrevealed himself to be Khail. *The artwork used for St. Patrick was done by Joe Spadaford and Chuck Vollmer, while Brian Roberts did the animation. *The sound effects that's used for Scooter after Apollo defeated him is a mix of both chattering teeth and a jackhammer. Remarks *Several fourth wall breaks were done, such as: **Maewyn interrupting Luifi while he's telling the story. **Acrhibald popping up explaining what the slik screen is made of and what a haiku is. **Scallion looking at the audience when Mikey states he injured his knee. *Considering Maewyn is in England, the church minster should've used the term "Football". *Patrick states that God is three persons, when the proper term is people. *A semi second flash flare happened when Jim Gourdly was explaining Jerry on Scallion's history. *Bus 92 is the route Larry took to get to the toy drive. If you look up at CTA, it takes you to Foster, which is where the original location of Big Idea. Goofs *During some parts of St. Patrick, some of the body joints of Maewyn are disconnected at times. *The beared sailor swapped his voice with the other sailor after they were cooking ham. *The horns on Apollo's helmet phased through the black before he enters in the sumo room. *Scallion was missing his tooth when Mikey asked him why he wants to face Apollo. Inside References *In the concept art, Scooter's character was Moyer. *If you look closely at the news article on Alexander, you can see the word Jonah. Real World References *Star Trek is a science fiction television series. Luifi stating we'll just beilve the Irish folk are speaking English is mostyly referring to the alien species the crew encountered claiming they speak a different language, but they just speak English so viewers can understand. *The small pile of rocks Maywen knocked over is a miniature version of Stonehenge. *Because it's a spoof of Rocky and Karate Kid, a lot of references and mentions were used, including: **Larry's character, the Italian Scallion is the spoof name of Rocky Balboa's nickname, the Italian Stallion. **Mikey is a composite of Mickey and Miyagi, the two mentors from the films. **Hadrian's name is a spoof of Adrian, Rocky's love interest and later wife. **Some of the scenes Scallion training (punching the can bags and running up the escalator) are similar to the training montages Rocky does. **The illustrator of Mikey's images is Danny LaRusso. That was the main character from the Karate Kid films. **Eye on the Tiger is the name of the song by Survivor, which was used for Rocky 3. *Po-Tato is a spoof on actor Mr. T, who is famous for saying "I pity the fool!". He was also known as Clubber Lang from the third Rocky film. *E.S.N (Emperor's Sports Network) is a play on words for ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). *The Mikado Mall is named after the play "Mikado", which is what the genre of the episode is based after. some of the stores there are play on words of real stores, such as: **Origami-R-Us (Toys "R" Us) **Samuri's Secrret (Victora's Secret) *Colors of the Wind is the name of the song heard in Disney's Pocahontas. *The S. S. Minnow is the name of the ship from "Gilligan's Island". *Alexander the Grape is a play on words for the Macedon king, Alexander the Great. Fast Foward *Nicky would used the same Groucho Marx glasses as one of his disguise. Gallery Category:Episodes Category:VeggieTales episodes